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La Boite Noire du Commerce de l’Huile de Palme
The report argues that Olam, a Singapore-based agribusiness, operates a 'black box' in its palm oil supply chain by concealing the identity of its suppliers, which allows the company to source oil from producers engaged in deforestation. In Gabon, the report alleges that Olam has cleared approximately 20,000 hectares of forest since 2012, violating FSC standards. In Southeast Asia, Olam's lack of transparency is linked to the 'haze' crisis caused by peatland and forest fires. The document calls for Olam to adopt a 'zero deforestation' policy, publish its supplier list, and restore destroyed habitats.
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Document type: Report
Resistencia a los antibióticos
The report identifies pharmaceutical manufacturing as a critical third driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), alongside human and animal misuse. Field research in India revealed high levels of drug-resistant E. coli near factories in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Delhi, specifically linking Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs & Pharmaceuticals to these hotspots. The document details a complex global supply chain where Chinese firms produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) under poor environmental conditions, which are then processed in India and exported to Western healthcare systems, including the UK's NHS and US distributors like McKesson. It concludes that current regulatory inspections focus on product safety rather than environmental impact, allowing pollution to accelerate a global health crisis.
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Document type: Report
Superbugs in der Lieferkette
The report details the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria near pharmaceutical production sites in India and China, arguing that poor waste management in these hubs fuels the global spread of 'superbugs'. Through water sampling and supply chain analysis, it identifies specific companies—such as Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs and Pharmaceuticals—as 'AMR hotspots' and traces their products to major healthcare providers and pharmaceutical giants in the West.
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Document type: Report
Superbactéries dans la chaîne d’approvisionnement
The report identifies a critical link between irresponsible pharmaceutical manufacturing practices in China and India and the proliferation of 'superbugs'. Field sampling in India revealed high levels of antibiotic resistance in water sources near factories owned by Aurobindo Pharma, Orchid Chemicals, and Asiatic Drugs and Pharmaceuticals. The analysis shows that these polluting sites are integrated into global supply chains, providing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished drugs to major distributors and healthcare providers in the West, including McKesson in the US and various public hospitals in France. The document argues that antimicrobial resistance is driven by three factors—medical, agricultural, and industrial—and calls for the integration of environmental criteria into Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and greater supply chain transparency.
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Document type: Report
Superbugs in the Supply Chain
The report identifies pharmaceutical manufacturing waste in India and China as a significant driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Through water sampling in India and supply chain analysis, it links specific polluting factories to major global distributors and public health systems, including the UK's NHS. It argues that current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) frameworks are insufficient because they lack environmental criteria, allowing 'superbugs' to proliferate and spread globally via trade and travel.
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Document type: Report
ARZNEIMITTELRESISTENZ DURCH DIE HINTERTÜR
The document examines how the pharmaceutical industry contributes to the global rise of 'superbugs' through the discharge of antibiotic-laden waste into the environment, particularly in China and India. It highlights a critical lack of transparency in the supply chain and argues that current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) fail to include environmental criteria. The report provides case studies of specific companies—such as NCPC, CSPC, and Aurobindo—linked to environmental violations and calls on German health authorities (BfArM) and procurement bodies (BVBG) to integrate environmental and AMR criteria into their licensing and purchasing processes to prevent the further spread of drug-resistant bacteria.
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Document type: Report
Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard
The 2016 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard evaluates corporate adoption of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). While many companies have joined the RSPO and increased CSPO use, a significant gap remains between high-level commitments and the use of physically segregated supply chains. The report highlights that while 77 companies committed to 100% CSPO by 2015, only 56 achieved this. It emphasizes the need for companies to move beyond 'book and claim' certificates toward segregated sourcing to effectively eliminate deforestation and habitat loss in producer regions like Indonesia and Malaysia.
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Document type: Report
AMAZONIA SECURITY AGENDA
The document argues that current development and climate policies in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru often conflict, particularly where biofuel and hydropower expansion undermine forest conservation and water security. It advocates for a 'security agenda' based on the water-energy-food nexus to better manage resource trade-offs and improve coordination between national and subnational governments.
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Document type: Policy brief
IMPROVING SUSTAINABLE COMMODITY SUPPLY CHAINS IN AMAZONIA
The document argues that increasing transparency in agricultural supply chains is a critical pre-condition for improving governance and reducing deforestation in Amazonia. It introduces a 'middle-ground' modelling approach that links specific production jurisdictions (municipalities or departments) to downstream actors, allowing for the identification of risk exposure and the formation of public-private coalitions to manage production landscapes sustainably.
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Document type: Briefing
Balancing detail and scale in assessing transparency to improve the governance of agricultural commodity supply chains
The document introduces a methodology to bridge the gap between macro-scale footprint accounts and fine-scale traceability systems in agricultural supply chains. By integrating country-wide sub-national production data with per-shipment customs data, the approach identifies specific actors and production landscapes. This enables more accurate assessment of geographic risk variability and the identification of actor coalitions for coordinated sustainability interventions.
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Document type: Research paper
IMPACTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL POLLUTION ON COMMUNITIES AND ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA
The report documents severe water and soil contamination caused by the bulk drug industry in India, particularly in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It highlights a systemic failure of waste treatment infrastructure and regulatory oversight, linking local pollution to the global spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The investigation identifies major pharmaceutical companies, including Aurobindo, Dr Reddy's, Hetero, and Mylan, as significant polluters whose products enter global markets, while local communities suffer from chronic health issues and destroyed livelihoods.
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Document type: Report
IMPACTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL POLLUTION ON COMMUNITIES AND ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA
The report documents systematic pharmaceutical pollution in India, particularly in the bulk drug manufacturing hubs of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. It argues that the discharge of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into waterways contributes to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and causes severe local health and environmental degradation. The document highlights a failure of regulatory oversight and a lack of supply chain transparency, which allows multinational pharmaceutical companies to outsource production to polluting sites without accountability. It recommends integrating environmental standards into the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) framework and increasing transparency in supplier relationships.
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Document type: Report
Bezweer de grondstoffenvloek
The text examines the 'resource curse', where mineral wealth leads to corruption and conflict rather than prosperity. It highlights the role of 'conflict minerals' in funding insurgencies in regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan. The author argues that while national governance is primary, industrialized nations must implement binding transparency regulations—such as the OECD guidelines—to prevent human rights abuses and ensure resource extraction supports sustainable development.
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Document type: Statement
Bad Medicine
The report argues that the pharmaceutical industry is fueling the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis through the unmonitored dumping of antibiotic-laden waste into the environment during the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). It highlights a 'three-tier chain' where raw materials from China are processed in India and then sold to global markets. The document identifies specific polluting factories in China—including NCPC, CSPC/Inner Mongolia Changsheng, and Sinopharm—and links them to major companies such as Pfizer, Teva, and McKesson. It concludes that current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are insufficient because they lack environmental criteria, and calls for greater supply chain transparency and the integration of environmental protection into global pharmaceutical standards.
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Document type: Report
Cómo determinadas compañías farmacéuticas contribuyen al aumento de súperbacterias resistentes a los antibióticos
The report argues that the discharge of antibiotic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into the environment during production, primarily in China and India, accelerates the development of superbugs. It highlights a lack of transparency in pharmaceutical supply chains, linking major global companies like Pfizer, Teva, and McKesson to polluting factories. The document calls for the integration of environmental protection criteria into Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and greater corporate transparency to mitigate this global health threat.
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Document type: Report
Fries, Face Wash, Forests
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzed 40 major US brands across the packaged food, personal care, fast food, and store-brand sectors to assess their palm oil sustainability commitments. While 21 of 30 companies previously scored in 2014 improved their practices, the report finds a wide disparity in leadership, with the packaged food sector leading and the fast food sector performing the worst. Despite an increase in corporate pledges, 32 of 40 companies lack adequate commitments to ensure transparency and traceability in their supply chains, and none of the 40 companies are currently sourcing 100 percent deforestation-free and peat-free palm oil.
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Document type: Report
Using official documentation under the EU Timber Regulation’s due diligence obligation
The briefing explains that under the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), operators must exercise due diligence to minimize the risk of illegally harvested timber entering the EU market. While official documentation—such as permits issued by public authorities or government-accredited schemes like Indonesia's SVLK—is a common tool, the document asserts that it is not sufficient on its own for compliance. It highlights several risks that undermine the reliability of official papers, including forgery, corruption in permit allocation, the use of outdated permits, and a lack of enforcement or monitoring on the ground. To mitigate these risks, the briefing recommends that operators and Competent Authorities supplement official documents with data from NGOs, research institutes, public bodies, and satellite imagery, while maintaining detailed records of their risk assessment procedures.
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Document type: Briefing
Transformative Transparency: Harnessing the power of data for supply chain sustainability
The briefing presents Transformative Transparency, a data-driven platform developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Global Canopy Programme. It aims to increase transparency in the trade of agricultural commodities—specifically those linked to deforestation—by linking production landscapes to consumer countries using customs data, bills of lading, and subnational production data. The platform is designed to help investors, retailers, governments, and consumers identify risk factors and monitor sustainability commitments, such as 'zero deforestation' pledges, by providing a more comprehensive and cost-efficient alternative to footprint analyses and bespoke traceability systems.
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Document type: Briefing
SEI INITIATIVE The SEI Initiative on Producer to Consumer Sustainability
The SEI Initiative on Producer to Consumer Sustainability (P2CS) is a research and action platform designed to address the complexity of global production-to-consumption systems (PCSs). The initiative focuses on developing 'next-generation' footprint accounting tools to provide higher spatial resolution and better attribution of responsibility across supply chains. It also investigates supply chain governance to identify gaps in existing risk-management commitments and foster new mechanisms for sustainable trade. Initial pilot projects (2015–2016) target beef and soy in Brazil and oil palm in South East Asia for European markets.
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Document type: Briefing
A picture of the fishmeal and fish oil supply chain from West Africa to Europe
The report details how over 500,000 tonnes of fish are diverted annually from West African coastal communities to produce FMFO for European and Asian aquaculture and livestock. It identifies Mauritania as the primary exporter, with a significant portion of its fish oil destined for the EU, particularly France and Denmark. The document links this trade to major European aquafeed companies and retailers, while highlighting the severe socio-economic impacts on local artisanal fishermen and women processors.
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Document type: Report